Alan Bleviss

'''Alan David Bleviss''' (August 6, 1941 – December 30, 2017) was a Canadian born voice actor who had been a resident of the United States since 1976. In 1991, he was described as one of the "top names" in the business.<ref name=PI/> His voice over career spanned nearly four decades.<ref name="OBIT">{{cite web|title=Alan Bleviss Obituary|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/alan-bleviss-obituary?pid=187692774|website=Legacy.com| date=31 December 2017 |access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> He was a past president of the Civil War Token Society.

==Life and career== Bleviss was born and raised in Edmonton, where his father owned several theaters and a cigar store.<ref name =CM/> He was educated at the University of Alberta and the National Theatre School of Canada.<ref name =CM/> He lived in the New York City area at the height of his career from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, and died at his home in New York City on December 30, 2017.<ref name="OBIT" />

Bleviss did voice over work for the coming attraction trailers for hundreds of Hollywood movies, especially those made by Miramax<ref name="PI">{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/1991-10-09/news/25814323_1_msi-voice-cinema-paradiso|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913040027/http://articles.philly.com/1991-10-09/news/25814323_1_msi-voice-cinema-paradiso|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2015|title=The Voice That Sells The Movies: Alan Bleviss, Unseen Star Of The Ad World|last=Rea|first=Steven|date=October 9, 1991|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=August 19, 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref> His corporate clients included American Express, AT&T, Canada Dry,<ref name=PI/> Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Kodak.<ref name =CM/> He did political work for the National Abortion Rights Action League and many Democratic Party campaigns, including the 1988 campaign of Michael Dukakis for president.<ref name=PI/>

Bleviss won six Clio awards.<ref name =CM/> Among the earliest was a 1971 TV ad for Heinz Tomato Juice, which used a celery stick to emphasize how thick the product is.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=dick&p=96&item=AT:48603.007 |title=Heinz Tomato Juice: Celery Stick (Clio Awards, 1972 Winners) |website=Paley Center for Media |access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref>

In 1992, Bleviss developed Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, which led to partial paralysis and damage to his voice. He barely worked for 20 years, although therapy eventually allowed him to regain professional use of his voice.<ref name =CM>{{cite news | last =Mouallem | first =Omar | title =The Voice: One man overcame all odds to become the voice trusted by millions. Now he takes on a new role: hero to fine arts students | newspaper =Cornerstone magazine | publisher =University of Alberta | date =May 2014 | url =http://www.cornerstonemagazine.ca/alan-bleviss/ | access-date =August 9, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160820191630/http://www.cornerstonemagazine.ca/alan-bleviss/ | archive-date =August 20, 2016 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

Bleviss served on the board of directors of the National Theatre School of Canada,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ent-nts.ca/en/about/ca-cg/| title =Patron and Board of Directors | date =2015 | website = National Theatre School of Canada | access-date =August 19, 2016 }}</ref> and funded scholarships and a student theatre facility at the University of Alberta.<ref name =CM/>

Bleviss is the inspiration for a sandwich called "The Edmonton" at Shopsins, a diner in Manhattan. It is a tuna and avocado sandwich on garlic bread. <ref name=CC>{{cite news | last =Cosh | first =Colby | title =A short story from the stochastic web | newspaper = Maclean's| location =Toronto | date =February 2, 2010 | url =http://www.macleans.ca/authors/colby-cosh/a-short-story-from-the-stochastic-web/ | access-date =August 19, 2010 }}</ref> He is a well-known collector of Civil War tokens, unofficial currency of the early 1860s.<ref name=CC/> In 2009, he auctioned off 500 items from his collection, described by the auctioneer as "one of the most extensive holdings ever assembled".<ref>{{cite news | title =Stack's Sells Millions at 74th Anniversary Coin and Currency Sale in Baltimore | newspaper =Coin Collecting News | date =December 2, 2009 | url =http://www.coinlink.com/News/uncategorized/stacks-sells-millions-at-74th-anniversary-coin-and-currency-sale-in-baltimore/ | access-date =August 19, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160820193328/http://www.coinlink.com/News/uncategorized/stacks-sells-millions-at-74th-anniversary-coin-and-currency-sale-in-baltimore/ | archive-date =August 20, 2016 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212171918/http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/arts/Alan_Bleviss.cfm Alan Bleviss Mini-Bio]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleviss, Alan}} Category:1941 births Category:2017 deaths Category:Canadian male voice actors Category:Male actors from Edmonton Category:University of Alberta alumni Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States